The Park City Performing Arts Institute unveiled their upcoming season on Thursday night. Well known celebrities, intellects, artists and entertainers and some less known are in the line up. This year they’re doing a few shows in October just to whet the appetite for performing arts enthusiasts who are waiting for the season to begin in November. Carolyn Murray has this:
Performance this year at the Eccles Stage is not just about dancing and singing, although there will be plenty of that beginning in November. They’re bringing authors, journalists, circus acts and National Geographic adventurers. Executive Director of the Park City Performing Arts Institute, Teri Orr said they have a handful of topical acts that are on the schedule.
“..fortieth anniversary of Sweet Honey In The Rock. They are an amazing Capella, black women gospel, civil rights. You name it, they are all of that. Powerful, powerful group. So, that’ll be Thanksgiving weekend. December 15th…but two years ago, when the death of the two boys occurred….the overdoses. So, we had an opportunity to bring in David Sheff and Nic Sheff, who are the principals in the film that’s just being released in two weeks, Beautiful Boy. So, they will be coming to speak about their journey as father and son.”
Orr says her team worked hard to bring renowned journalist Bob Woodward, who is coming on Sunday, December 16th. The Pulitzer prize winning New York Times journalist, Jodi Kantor has written a lot about the MeToo movement and has family connections in Park City. She’s written about Harvey Weinstein and Orr said her articles have references to the Park City community.
“So, when I reached out to Jodi, she said she’d love to come. She’s coming the week before Sundance which is kind of ironic since a lot of her writings talked about Harvey Weinstein and even the Stein Erickson Lodge. Certainly, a local connection. Right after Sundance, we come in with a week in the community with a theatrical group that’s tied into the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. And, the project is called It Gets Better. It started in Los Angeles years ago. Again, lots of teenage suicides related to bullying. A lot of that bullying related to sexual orientation. So, we will spend a week with government officials, school district folks, other nonprofits talking about how to make things better in the community. Then, it will culminate in a performance with the San Francisco Gay men’s Chorus.”
They have three National Geographic shows that include film documentation along with the experts who will be on stage. They include the topics of a climber’s journey, ocean exploration and big cats.
“So, we have the Point of No Return on November 30th with Hillary O’Neil, who climbed a peak…I believe it was in Tibet. And, it’s supposed to be the highest peak in the world. And, she said she knew it would be difficult. She said she didn’t realize the most difficult part would be the people that she dealt with to get to the top of the peak. Then, we have another National Geographic after that on December 29th with Brian Skerry and he is an ocean guy. January 19th, we have the last of the National Geo shows which is about big cats. We think we have big cats in park City if we see a mountain lion. But, these are the really big cats. These are the tigers and leopards. This guy’s been tracking them for years."
Orr said actor, singer Sutton Foster will bring her performance to the Eccles Stage on New Years Eve with a show of her own making.
“You may know her as the star of the television series, Younger. But she’s a two-time Tony Award Winner. And she’s young and fun and sassy. And, it will not be a Broadway show. It will not be a television show. It will be with a band."
Gary Trudea, The New Chinese Magic Circus and a Warren Miller film are lined up for October.
The website is under construction, so it might take a little longer than usual to find details on the shows but go to Parkcityinstitute.org for information.
